Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-05-18
MEDICINE LODGE. KANSAS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 18 1887
TRICKS OF FANCY.
Several Notable Cases Recorded
by New York Surgeon.
Woman Who Insisted That She Had
Gulped Down a Double Set of Teeth
Which She Had, in Reality,
Dropped I'm n SIop-BuciSet.
IN. Y. Mercury.1

The case of Cincinnati lady who claims
to have swallowed her false teeth is ex-
citing much attention. The former house
surgeon in two prominent hospitals of the
metropolis, and now head surgeon to a
public institution, said to reporter In
speaking of the case: II have seen men,
tion of the woman you speak of in some Of
the papers, and can say that a careful ex-
ploration under the operation suggest ted
will satisfy the surgeons that the woman
is simply the victim of her own wild imag-
ination. Have met with any cases of a
similar naturel Yes. / have, curiously
enough. One case in particular was that
OF lady brought into the New York Hos
pltal not long ago This lady had an entire
upper row of artificial teeth. She went
out shopping. when as she was looking
into window on Broadway she felt q
tickling sensation in her throat. She lift.
ed her tongue on the moment and realized
that her upper false teeth were missing
Uttering cry of dismay she hurried from
Broadway to Fifteenth street. her inten-
tion being TO make her way to the
New York Hospital to have her false
false teeth extricated, which she now felt
positive she had swallowed. Just within
half block of the hospital the lady felt
the suffocating sensation in her throat sc
severe that she fell in commissions on the
pavement.
She was at once conveyed to the hos
pital. When the patient recovered suffi-
ciently to speak she explained that she
was certain that she had placed her artifi-
cial upper teeth in he mouth when she left
the house, and while in the street realized
they had suddenly loosened and passed
down into her stomach. The patient was
questioned closely, and during the conver-
sation again displayed the symptoms of
asphyxiation and went off into great agony
and convulsive paroxysms. There was
row not the slightest doubt but that the
lady had swallowed some foreign sub
stance, and that it was either passing
: down the oesophagus or wedged in the
wlndpipe. Immediately the patient was
placed on her feet and strong light from
the laryngoScope cast into her throat No
obstacle of any description could be de-
tected. Nevertheless the woman's res
piration was forced, and her symptoms of
asphyxiation kept up. 1t was de-
cided to give the woman a better
chance to breathe by the removal of
some OF her apparel, and to this end
female nurse was called in and directed
to disrobe the patient. The nurse removed
the corset and skirts of the suffering
woman, when out rolled from the folds of
the lady's chemise, at the shoulder, the
missing row of the artificial teeth which
the woman had been under the impress
sion she had swallowed. The nurse Sc
cured the teeth without telling the owner,
and gave them to the doctor That gentle
man, upon returning to the patient again,
inserted an instrument into the patients
wind-pipe and, quickly Withdrawing it,
announced he had secured the cause of
all the trouble. The lady gazed on her
missing teeth in wonder, and gave every
indication Of speedy recovery. 1t was not
until the patient had entirely recovered
that she was made aware Of the fact that
she had not swallowed her teeth at all
Another odd case that came under my
personal observation was that of South
ern lady in a boarding-house up town. !
was one morning summoned to this lady's
house, and there l found her in great
agony upon sofa, crying and declaring
she would lose her life, for she had swal-
lowed her false teeth. The lady's husband
was present and very much excited ]
questioned the woman closely, and she de-
scribed how she had made it practice be.
fore retiring each night to place her teeth
in atumbler ofwater near her bedside She
remembered well that morning reaching
over for her teeth and placing them in her
mouth before she got up. Then when she
queer sensation in her mouth and
instantly missed her teeth. They
were not in the glass of water, and a
painful feeling iu the throat convinced
her that she had swallowed them The
husband left the room, and ! directed the
servant TO move the bed and turn out
every part of the covering on the floor
This was done, and between the bolster
and upper mattress were found the false
teeth.
had another case OF prominent New
York merchants wife. This lady came to
me in her carriage while l was at the hos
pital, and astounded me by declaring that
she had gulped down an upper and lower
set OF four teeth each. l examined her
throat closely, and then told her did not be-
lieve her teeth had been swallowed. But
she seemed quite frightened, and said
must be mistaken, for she actually felt
them in her stomach. At last agreed to
accompany her to her home to fully salts
~ myself in her case l jumped in her
carriage, and a few moments after was in
her house. ! summoned one of the cham
bermaids, and asked if she had done up
the lady's sleeping apartment. The do
mestic said she had, and when questioned
about the teeth said she had not seen
them. The water the lady had used in ar
ranging her toilet was still up in the hall
way in the slop-bucket. / asked for the
bucket and took a pair of tongs from
near the CRATE and ran it down
into the bucket At once I struck
something hard, and, getting a hold be-
tween the prongs of the tongs, fshed up
first one plate and then the other. / still
have had two cases in my time where
teeth actually got in the windpipe, but not
whole set. / extricated the teeth in both
these instances They were swallowed in
eating, and did not get so far down as the
stomach. have heard of case where a
young doctor who had etherized his pa
tent had a great effort to save her life
through a couple of large false teeth be-
coming loose and wedging up the wind
pipe during the operation. would advise
that doctors, before administering any
anethetic, ascertain if their patient has
false teeth, and, IL so, to cause the removal
OF the same during the operation"